Silicon Valley: “Proof of Concept” Review

With just one day left till their presentation, the Pied Piper crew gets into all sorts of hijinks at TechCrunch Disrupt.

(Credit: HBO / Via: ReadWrite.com)

Note: The following review goes into detail about the episode. SPOILER ALERT!

There’s nothing like a change of scenery to liven things up on a comedy. And “Silicon Valley” used the Pied Piper crew heading to a convention in San Francisco to its fullest. With just one day left before the live demo at TechCrunch Disrupt, Richard and the team had to work fast in order to make sure it was ready on time. Of course, that means distractions abounded, whether it was a woman who needed help with Java, or Richard becoming obsessed with rumors that an ex-girlfriend said he was obsessed with her. Much like in the previous episode, Richard’s story covered some well-trodden ground, but managed to be entertaining by making the story be about Richard’s obsession with not seeming like he’s obsessed. The few references to the high number of women at the convention (despite still being a low number overall) were fun, although they did draw a bit of attention to the lack of female presence on the show itself. At least they’re self-aware, right?

Equally entertaining were the two subplots featuring Erlich and Dinesh. After realizing he slept with one of the judge’s wives, Erlich went on a non-specific quest to discover if the judge remembered him. His constantly vague updates on the matter were a delight “We should be fine, but we could also be totally f*cked. I’ll let you know.” His constant requests to have spotlights shine on him and the return of his Steve Jobs turtleneck were quite entertaining as well, and T.J. Miller was able to sell every moment of it. Dinesh’s story had a few laughs as well. After a hot girl behind Pied Piper’s booth had Gilfoyle write some code for her twitter page, Dinesh became infatuated with her after she asks for his help fixing a bug. The sexualized way Dinesh described the code was hilarious, as was his reaction when he found that Gilfoyle had in fact written the code, making him, as Gilfoyle puts it, “gay for code.” Jared didn’t have much to do, but was able to get a few chuckles as he struggled to remain relevant as Peter Gregory’s assistant Monica did all his usual tasks. The way this dovetailed into Richard’s story was nice however, with his description of their relationship as “partners” providing a hilarious misconception that ended the question of whether he was obsessed with his ex.

(Credit: HBO)

The convention itself was also a great deal of fun, with the Startup competition showing off a parade of tech apps which all sought to “revolutionize the world with cloud-based protocol filters.” It’s here that some of the best satire of the tech market came, with each app’s reps using trendy buzzwords, which got shorter with each presentation. We also got more movement on the Gavin Belson/Hooli front as their Pied Piper ripoff Nucleus neared completion, but it felt kind of lost among the larger narrative.

THE BREAKDOWN

Overall, this was the probably the best episode of “Silicon Valley” yet. The show’s cast was utilized well, and each had an entertaining story set against the backdrop of the hilarious Startup parade that was TechCrunch Disrupt. This was actually the final episode before the season finale, so let’s hope the momentum from this episode carries over to the next as we see how well the Pied Piper team’s live demo goes over.

Eager for the finale of “Silicon Valley?” What was the funniest moment of the season thus far? Be sure to leave a comment below?